According to local time May 7 news from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, renowned international relations theorist and the proposer of the "soft power" concept, Joseph Nye, passed away recently at the age of 88.
It is reported that after Joseph Nye obtained his doctorate from Harvard University, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for the Carter administration, Chairman of the National Intelligence Council and Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Clinton administration, and after returning to Harvard University, he served as Dean of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. He was one of the most famous and influential international political scholars in the United States.
Joseph Nye Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
In terms of academia, Joseph Nye is the proposer of the "soft power" concept and a representative figure of the "neo-liberalism" school in international relations theory, an important representative of new functionalism and interdependence theory. His works and theories, such as "Power and Interdependence", "Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power", and "Smart Power", not only have great influence in the field of international relations theory but also play an important role in actual U.S. foreign policy.
Joseph Nye has had several of his works translated into Chinese, including "Soft Power", "Soft Power and Sino-US Competition-Cooperation", and "The Future of Power".
In a previous dialogue with the Guancha Network, Joseph Nye mentioned that great power competition is not necessarily a zero-sum game. There are common interests between the US and China in some areas. Maintaining global economic health and keeping financial stability are good examples. Of course, there are also very important areas, such as addressing climate change, combating pandemics, and preventing nuclear proliferation.
Therefore, Joseph Nye stated: "Even during periods of great power competition, we still have many areas where we need to cooperate. This is why I refer to Sino-US relations as a competitive-cooperative relationship. We must face the reality of competition, but it should not hinder our cooperation."
On March 8, 2025, the Financial Times website published an article signed by Joseph Nye. The article argued that President Trump's policies may pose a "greater challenge" to America's soft power over the next four years.
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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7501869330339004980/
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